They were joined by the Raleigh-Apex NAACP for a rally prior to the meeting.
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"I needed to speak for myself as a trans person to show that there's nothing bad about what's going on; I'm just a normal person like everybody else," said Leo Brown, 16.
Brown said he goes on dates in Apex because there is no NDO in Holly Springs.
"I do know that there are businesses who don't feel that way, and I know there are businesses where I'd not feel welcome with my partner who is non-binary," Brown said.
The ordinance wasn't on the agenda.
The town debated and decided not to sign on last month after Wake County came up with its own version last fall.
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The mayor continues to feel that the diverse people and businesses in the town say it all.
"It is a piece of paper but it's also a piece of paper that lets everyone in this town know our legislators care," said Nakita Noel, a queer Black mother of 3.
She said she was at last month's meeting but was too afraid to speak.
"How can you tell me we're accepting and that we're fair?" Noel said. "How are we supposed to feel safe in a community when we're actively being told if you don't like it, get out?"
Holly Springs, Wake Forest and Fuquay-Varina are the only towns that have not signed on to the NDO.